The Month in Horror Releases: April

Now that it’s finally Spring, with summer just around the corner, the rest is smooth sailing from here. We’re starting to inch closer and closer to the really good stuff (although we’ve certainly seen some gems thus far), starting with a couple of indies that look cool as hell and some unknowns that might surprise us. But before we get started, here’s what I watched in March:

Brimstone (review): A western with the atmosphere of a horror film, Brimstone is a sometimes stunning and vicious portrayal of love and revenge in the Old American West. Fantastic performances and gorgeous visuals hold this solid enough thriller together.

The Devil’s Candy (review): Horror infused with heavy metal, The Devil’s Candy is a razor-sharp and wholly brutal thriller that delves into the all-consuming power of the devil.

April 4

We Go On (VOD)

Director: Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton

Cast: Annette O’Toole, Clark Freeman, John Glover

Paralyzed by his fear of dying, Miles Grissom is offering reward money to the first person who can show him a ghost, an angel, a demon – anything to prove to him that we go on after our deaths. He narrows the responses down to three viable candidates – a scientist, a medium, and a worldly entrepreneur. And along with his protective mother, he embarks on an adventure through Los Angeles that will spiral into an unthinkable nightmare.

Don’t Hang Up (VOD)

Director: Damien Macé, Alexis Wajsbrot

Cast: Gregg Sulkin, Garrett Clayton, Bella Dayne

An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them…with deadly consequences.

April 7

Bethany (VOD)

Director: James Cullen Bressack

Cast: Stefanie Estes, Zack Ward, Tom Green

Claire and her husband find themselves moving back into Claire’s childhood home only to have the abusive and traumatic memories of her mother come back to haunt her. As her husband starts to get more work, Claire finds herself mixed up in a fog of past and present with a mysterious figure haunting her memories. What is this small figure that is trying to reach out to her, and what does it want?

The Void (Theaters & VOD)

Director: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski

Cast: Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Kenneth Welsh

When police officer Carter (Aaron Poole) discovers a blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road, he rushes him to a local hospital with a barebones, night shift staff. As cloaked, cult-like figures surround the building, the patients and staff inside start to turn ravenously insane. Trying to protect the survivors, Carter leads them into the depths of the hospital where they discover a gateway to immense evil.

April 18

The Dark Tapes (VOD)

Director: Vincent J. Guastini, Michael McQuown

Cast: Emilia Ares Zoryan, Danielle Baez, Katelyn Bailey

A genre-defying mixture of horror, sci-fi, myth, mystery and thrills told as four interlocking tales in one intelligent anthology. Ghosts, spirits, creatures, demons and more from the paranormal world collide with rational curiosity.

April 28

A Dark Song (Theaters & VOD)

Director: Liam Gavin

Cast: Mark Huberman, Susan Loughnane, Steve Oram

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

Rupture (Theaters & VOD)

Director: Steven Shainberg

Cast: Noomi Rapace, Peter Stormare, Kerry Bishé

A single mom tries to break free from a mysterious organization that has abducted her.

Voice from the Stone (Theaters & VOD)

Director: Eric D. Howell

Cast: Emilia Clarke, Marton Csokas, Caterina Murino

Set in 1950s Tuscany, Voice from the Stone is the haunting and suspenseful story of Verena, a solemn nurse drawn to aid a young boy who has fallen silent since the sudden passing of his mother.

Predictions

What you shouldn’t miss:

A couple of films that have been garnering some serious hype out of the festival circuit go to the indie darlings A Dark Song and The Void, making this month’s must-sees an easy choice.

I’m hearing some good things about Liam Gavin’s A Dark Song, which is certainly one of the more original concepts of the batch.

You’d be crazy to miss Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski’s The Void, a throwback horror film directly inspired by the works of madman John Carpenter. Need I say more?

What you should take a chance on:

These next two films look pretty damn good but for whatever reason haven’t been generating much buzz, so we’ll just have to take a shot in the dark on both Rupture and Voice from the Stone.

Rupture has too good of a cast (Rapace, Stormare) to ignore and the trailers made it look like a skin-crawling trip, so it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

Voice from the Stone is probably this month’s most intriguing film because it kind of came out of nowhere and no one is really talking about it. That said, it looks absolutely stunning and the always wonderful Emilia Clarke stars, so there’s gotta be something to it. Hopefully.

Which film are you looking forward to the most?

Definitely going with The Void here; I’m a sucker for gooey practical effects!

It’s funny you mention that because I couldn’t decide between a handful of images to use from it because that entire movie looks ridiculously gorgeous—definitely excited to check it out; it might just be one of the best-looking movies of the year.